Thank Goodness for an Introduction: Lyn Hejinian

Normally I avoid introductions, thinking that I don't need a strangers opinion on this literary persons creation; that the work should speak its essence to me without any meddling mediator. However, in regards to Lyn Hejinian, I'm so glad that I was presented with a set of loose guidelines with which to navigate her writing. It allowed me to be prepared to pay attention. And I paid attention, I drew lines between words that seemed similar to me, which helped me find the odd one out. I wondered at her animation of inanimte object and denial of the motion of other things. She might not make a whole lot of sense in her writing, but the writing itself is interesting, the use of certain phrases, the challenging of assumptions, the creation of images that are innovative but perhaps not all together unfamiliar, made me grow to have a great deal of respect for her. I wondered at the meaning or purpose of the little italicized side notes which accompanied 'from My Life', perhaps they're moral guidelines, or a bit of a voice from the author to help us feel that we're not all together alone with this matter, or simply words of wisdom similar to a daily quote to be pondered on. This elusiveness is intriguing but not off-putting to me. Why should everything be easy?

T.B.W (To Be Written)

I had the time this morning to write on White Noise but didn't feel I could structure my discussion of it in anything other than personal experience and I feel as though I do that far too often so I am going to do this one after class so that I have a better literary structure within which to frame my blog.

What is most interesting about reading this work would be the fact that I'm not a terribly modern person and I've been called an 'old soul' at least three times. I didn't grow up watching television, in fact it informs my life in a very limited way. How is someone like that supposed to understand this book? Does it even affect my reading? Or is it a work more about the American consciousness as a whole? How we work towards convenience of living life and our ultimate death? With shopping malls to pass the time and remind us of how money is as futile as the rest of it, with cars to easily transport our spoiled and pampered skins....

**********************************************************************************

Although the work seems clearly to present images of childhood, such as toys and curiosity in everything and steadfast opinions and descriptions of milestones in the year such as Halloween, I don't think that it was ever presented in such a way that I was brought to a particular event but perhaps just a feeling from a certain experience which is much more reasonable to ask of my limited memory. In terms of stimulation I find it interesting how the author doesn't ever identify the providers of such stimulation either by referring to the speaker or narrator of the news or by talking about cable companies and "they". I think that the post-Cold War atmosphere is very dominant in Jack's actions and thoughts, the number of questions, the attempt to find meaning without disrupting routine, and at the same time to some degree being ready for sudden disruptive events because he grew up with that panic and paranoia. I don't think that my lack of experience in regards to directly relating with television for lengthy period of times affects my reading of this work because there is such a plethora of experience and world views I don't feel alienated. I would only feel alienated if there were references to particular actors and actresses from a certain show or what have you.